Los Angeles Times - 27.08.2019

D2 TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

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PRO CALENDAR

TUE. WED. THU. FRI. SAT. 27 28 29 30 31

DODGERS

at San Diego 7 SNLA

at San Diego 6 SNLA

at Arizona 6:30 SNLA

at Arizona 5 SNLA, Ch. 5

ANGELS

TEXAS 7 FS1

TEXAS 7 FSW

BOSTON 7 FSW

BOSTON 6 FSW

GALAXY

LAFC

SPARKS

at Washington 4 ESPN2

at Indiana 4

at Las Vegas 7:30 NBATV

Shade denotes home game

RAMS:Thursday at Houston (exhibition) 5 p.m., Ch. 2
CHARGERS:Thursday at San Francisco (exhibition), 7 p.m., Ch. 7, NFL Network

NEXT: SUNDAY AT SEATTLE, 3:30, FS1

NEXT: SUNDAY VS. MINNESOTA, 7:30, YOUTUBE TV

TIME EVENT ON THE AIR BASEBALL 4 p.m. Chicago Cubs at New York Mets TV:MLB 7 p.m. Dodgers at San Diego TV:SNLA R:570, 1020 7 p.m. Texas at Angels TV:FS1 R:830, 1330 BASKETBALL 4 p.m. WNBA, Sparks at Washington TV:ESPN2 HORSE RACING 5 p.m. Race Night TV:TVG SOCCER 9:45 a.m. France, Montpellier vs. Lyon TV:beIN1, beINES 11:30 a.m. UEFA Champions League, Red Star Belgrade vs. Young Boys

TV:Galavision

11:30 a.m. UEFA Champions League, Krasnodar vs. Olympiacos

TV:UDN

4:45 p.m. Mexico, Atlas vs. UANL TV:UDN 6:45 p.m. Mexico, America vs. Pachuca TV:UDN SURFING 10 a.m. World Surf League, Tahiti Pro Teahupo’o TV:FS2 TENNIS 9 a.m. U.S. Open, first round TV:ESPN 4 p.m. U.S. Open, first round TV:ESPN

TODAY ON THE AIR

Major League Baseball
National League
Favorite Underdog
DODGERS -176 at San Diego +164
at Philadelphia -133 Pittsburgh +123
Cincinnati -143 at Miami +133
at New York -110 Chicago +100
at Milwaukee -138 St. Louis +128
at San Francisco OFF Arizona OFF
American League
Favorite Underdog

at ANGELS -140 Texas +130 Cleveland -140 at Detroit +130 Minnesota -127 at Chicago +117 at Houston -168 Tampa Bay +158 Oakland -163 at Kansas City +153 New York -180 at Seattle +165 Interleague Favorite Underdog at Washington -305 Baltimore +275 at Toronto OFF Atlanta OFF at Colorado -109 Boston -101

ODDS

about a global esports audi- ence that could reach almost 600 million people next year, he was quickly able to get his head around the industry because the numbers speak for themselves. Boiled all the way down, the esports industry is simply fans wanting to see the best in the world perform something that they themselves enjoy doing, which is the same concept as any of our teams in traditional sports.” Kotick recalls addressing a room a few years ago that included NFL Commis- sioner Roger Goodell, William Morris Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, Alex Rodriguez and other power- ful figures in traditional sports about esports and watching their eyes glaze

While the
Rams were
playing the
Denver
Broncos in a
preseason
game at the
Coliseum on
Saturday night, less than
three miles down Figueroa
at L.A. Live, the Gladiators
and Valiant, Los Angeles’
two Overwatch League
teams, were going back and
forth in the “Battle for L.A.”
Tracking the action early
Sunday morning in England
was Josh Kroenke, who
along with his father, Stan,
owns Kroenke Sports &
Entertainment. The compa-
ny’s subsidiaries include the
Rams and Gladiators in Los
Angeles, as well as the Den-
ver Nuggets, Colorado Ava-
lanche, Colorado Rapids
and international soccer
powerhouse Arsenal in
London.
As the Arsenal director,
Josh was at Anfield to watch
Liverpool defeat Arsenal 3-1,
but the results from Los
Angeles were more to his
liking as the Rams and
Gladiators came away with
victories. It might seem odd
to include the results of an
esports team with NFL and
Premier League franchises
worth about $3 billion each,
but the Kroenkes don’t see
it that way.
Three years ago Activ-
ision Blizzard Chief Execu-
tive Bobby Kotick met with
Stan and Josh Kroenke as
well as with Robert and
Jonathan Kraft, who own
the New England Patriots
and New England Revolu-

tion as well as the Boston Uprising of the Overwatch League. Kotick explained his vision for the Overwatch League, a professional esports league for the popular first-person shooter video game, and how he wanted to put teams in home markets with estab- lished owners and make it like a traditional professional sports league. The idea attracted Stan, 72, almost as much as it did Josh, 39. “While I am closer to the general age of the demo- graphic, my father and Bobby Kotick have been friends for a very long time so he understands gaming much better than people might expect,” Josh Kroenke said. “When you start talking

over as he explained its popularity. “They were asking me where’s the sports part?” Kotick said. “So I asked Alex to stand up and I said there are about 1,200 Major League Baseball players and maybe 10 are as distin- guished as this guy. Now look at me. There are a billion of me. They want the same sense of belonging and the same sense of pur- pose and the same sense of meaning. They want their hopes and dreams to be possible and achievable. Those billion people aren’t going to get that from traditional sports, but they are going to get it from video games and that’s the differ- ence between esports and traditional sports.” The message hit home with the Kroenkes and Krafts in 2016 when they were guests of Kotick at BlizzCon, a gaming conven- tion held by Blizzard Enter- tainment in Anaheim to promote its franchises such as Overwatch. Both bought slots in the Overwatch League for $20 million each when the league launched with 12 teams last year. Eight more teams were added this year with slots going for $35 million. The league plans to expand to 28 teams in the future and the hope is franchise fees will reach $60 million. “I think whenever you experience something like BlizzCon you immediately understand the power of the gaming community and its reach,” Josh Kroenke said. “Bobby had a grand vision of what they were planning,

and to see and experience the people there supporting the different games and their characters just re- validated the gaming ecosystem as a whole. Plus, we thought that the city- based format of the Over- watch League created a compelling revenue model for everyone involved — the league, team owners, players and sponsors.” The Kroenkes recently doubled down on their investment into esports by also buying a franchise in the Call of Duty League, which is launching next year, for $25 million. Much like “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” is a popular first- person shooter video game franchise published by Activision. The Kroenkes’ Over- watch League and Call of Duty League teams will play in the 6,000-seat performance venue that is being built under the same cano- py that will cover the 70,000- seat football stadium that will serve as the home of the Rams and Chargers in Inglewood. The Kroenkes are focused on making it a premiere esports venue. ‘We think that few traditional sports can match gaming’s reach,” Josh Kroenke said. “The ‘Call of Duty’ franchise has been a best-selling game 10 years in a row, and I have friends who absolutely love playing the game, so I know its popularity is unquestion- able. Its fans are some of the most passionate around, and as an esport it’s going to be fun to continue to evolve with them alongside the

launch of the new league in 2020.” There are moments when the multibillion-dollar world of esports seeps into the consciousness of traditional sports fans and exe- cutives. Last month, 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf won the $3-million grand prize at the Fortnite World Cup in New York and last weekend at The International, a tournament for “Dota 2,” a multiplayer online battle arena video game, a prize pool of $34 million was awarded in Shanghai, making it the largest single esports tournament ever. The Kroenkes would like to produce another one of those moments by hosting the League of Legends World Championship at the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in the near future. If that sounds crazy, consider that the 2017 League of Legends World Championship was held at the 80,000-seat Beijing National Stadium, which was used during the 2008 Summer Olympics. “The Hollywood Park project speaks for itself, and integrating esports into it has been a fun conversa- tion,” Josh Kroenke said. “Esports events are playing a significant role in the current dialogue. We think that between the new stadium, the performance venue, and potentially even partnering with the Forum next door, the possibilities around the district are endless for hosting amateur and professional esports events.”

A push to make esports next big thing

FANSgather in L.A. on Saturday for the Overwatch League match between the Gladiators and Valiant.

Robert PaulBlizzard Entertainment

ARASH MARKAZI

High school sports received a double dose of bad news on Monday when the annual participation survey by the National Federation of State High School Assns. showed a decline in sports participation for the first time in 30 years for the 2018- 19 season. Leading the decline was another drop in football participation, with 11-man football dropping by 30,829 to 1,006,013, the lowest mark since the 1999-2000 school year. It’s the fifth consecutive year of declining football participation. Overall sports participation was 7,937,491, a decline of 43,395 from 2017-18. “We know from recent surveys that the number of kids involved in youth sports has been declining, and a decline in the number of public school students has been predicted for a number of years, so we knew our ‘streak’ might end some- day,” said Karissa Niehoff,

NFHS executive director, in a statement. “The data from this year’s survey serves as a re- minder that we have to work even harder in the coming years to involve more students in these vital programs — not only athletics but performing arts programs as well.” The California Interscho- lastic Federation gave a pre- view of Monday’s survey ear- lier this month when its survey showed that football participation in California had declined for the fourth consecutive year. More than 12,000 students no longer play football. “When we look at our football numbers, we want to break that trend and see them go back up,” said Ron Nocetti, in his first year as executive director of the CIF. “I would be more concerned if our overall participation levels were going down by the same amount. Our stu- dent-athletes aren’t leaving sports. They’re choosing other sports.” No one in the CIF knows the reason for the football participation decline. They believe part of it is the attention that has been given to concussion concerns, but there’s also specu- lation on the growing trend

of athletes focusing on a single sport. “We need to find ways to keep students involved in the game because it pro- vides so many benefits,” No- cetti said. Ed Croson, the veteran football coach at West Hills Chaminade, said the “priva- tization of youth sports and people wanting parents to spend money year round on club teams” is impacting high school football. “Coaches want kids all the time,” he said. “One of the problems is you send them to other sports and they don’t come back.” Croson said he tries to encourage students to play multiple sports but the current state of affairs is not en- couraging. “With the rise of social media and all the contrap- tions kids have — cell- phones, the internet — kids are sedentary,” he said. “When we were young, our parents threw us out of the house to play. The world was more physical.” Southern Section Com- missioner Rob Wigod said it’s up to the principals, ath- letic directors and coaches on individual campuses to work closer to encourage multisport athletes and cre-

ate an environment where kids don’t feel pressured to play 12 months of a single sport. “If you think it’s too much, reel it back in,” he said of his message to campuses. To help with football safety concerns, schools have improved concussion protocols, passed rules to limit hitting in practices and put together clinics to teach better tackling skills. “While we recognize that the decline in football participation is due, in part, to concerns about the risk of in- jury, we continue to work with our member state asso- ciations, the nation’s high schools and other groups to make the sport as safe as possible,” Niehoff said. “Every state has enacted rules that limit the amount of contact before the season and during practices, and every state has concussion protocols and laws in place, so we continue to believe that the sport is as safe as it has ever been.” Nationally, combined basketball participation was down 23,944. The girls’ basketball total of 399,067 is the lowest since 1992-93. Much of the drop is attributed to a decline of 25,000 in Texas. Track added 5,257 participants.

Prep football numbers decline

Fewer are playing the

sport, national high

school survey finds,

continuing a trend.

By Eric Sondheimer

John Humphrey floated back from his cornerback spot. Anaheim Western tried to draw him close to the line of scrimmage with its outside receiver running a five-yard hitch. The Pioneers wanted to open a window for a deeper pass beyond Humphrey to an inside receiver running a corner route. But Humphrey main- tained his Cover-3 duties. He saw the outside receiver’s pass pattern while reading the inside target as well. When the inside receiver planted his foot and turned to the outside, he be- came Humphrey’s responsi- bility. The 6-foot-2, 176- pound defensive back was waiting when the quarterback flung a pass toward the inside receiver. “The quarterback threw it. I got up, got it,” Humphrey said. “It was almost a one-hand catch, though, cause I got it in my left hand and kind of brought it in.” Humphrey’s intercep- tion was part of a Pasadena

Muir defensive effort that completely locked down a Western offense that piled up nearly 500 yards per game last season. The Division 11 Southern Section champion Pioneers averaged 45.7 points in 2018, but Muir held Western to 209 yards of offense and zero offensive points in the season opener. Humphrey played an im- portant role as he was tasked with covering Arizo- na State wide receiver commit Caine Savage for much of the night. Savage showed his explosiveness, running the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. But Humphrey gave up only one big play to Savage, keeping the speedy wideout in front of him the rest of the night. “My mind-set is I’m not sleeping on nobody, regard- less of who they are,” Humphrey said of the one- on-one matchup against another top prospect. “I’m try- ing to go my hardest on every play, so I came in thinking I’m the bigger dog. I came in thinking I could dominate him. He didn’t really score besides that special teams play.”

Savage finished with 10 catches for 125 yards, but he will have to seek redemption for the 26-6 loss at the col- legiate level. The two could face off in the Pac-12 Confer- ence South Division over the next four years, as Humphrey committed to UCLA a month ago.

Pasadena ties Humphrey chose the Bruins in part because of the “once-in-a-lifetime experience” he will have of playing games in his backyard at the Rose Bowl. He’s following in the footsteps of two other Pasadena cornerbacks — Darnay Holmes and Elijah Gates. “It’s just [my] hometown. There’s no place like home,” Humphrey said. “Looking up to Darnay, Elijah Gates. They inspire me. Seeing how good they are, I think UCLA could develop me like that too. [UCLA defensive backs coach] Paul Rhoads is a great coach. He can really develop me, make me the best I could be.” Humphrey received a scholarship offer in July and visited UCLA multiple times during the offseason, includ-

ing participating in the Bru- ins’ invite-only summer camp in June and recruit barbecue in July. The more he was around the campus, the more it started to feel like home, so he decided to commit.

Uniquely UCLA When Humphrey visited the Bruins’ practices, he saw something different. “They don’t practice like other schools. They practice in a way that develops them without injuring themselves,” he said, adding that he will be watching the Bru- ins carefully this season. “I’m looking to see how they develop, what Chip Kelly’s doing to develop the pro- gram, see where they’re heading.” Humphrey wants to check out a couple of other schools during the season so he can compare what other programs have to offer before he signs in December and enrolls in January. He is planning on taking an official visit to California, and a trip to Oklahoma is likely, though Humphrey said he’s “leaning more towards California schools.”

UCLA commit covers a lot of ground

By Shotgun Spratling

Los Angeles Times - 27.08.2019

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